Hose-turning device



Nov. 17, 1925.

E. G. LEACH ET AL HOSE TURNING DEVICE Filed June 15. 1925 NTOR ATTORNEY Kill Patented Nov. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,562,345 PATENT. OFFICE- ELMER G. LEACH AND CLARENCE RQWA DLE, or OLYMPIA, WASHINGTONrSAID WADDLE ASSIGNOR TO SAID LEACH.

HosE- rUR'NING 'nEvIciJ.

To aZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, ELMER G. LEACH and CLARENCE R. VVAnnLncitizens of the United States, residing at Olympia, in the county of Thurston and State of lVashington, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Hose-Turning Devices, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in hose turning devices and the object of our invention is to provide a hose turning device of cheap and simple construction that is eflicient in operation and that will save much time and labor in turning socks,

" stockings and similar tubular. articles that are being laundered.

Another object is to provide a simple and efiicient hose turning device in combination with a clothes stick of the form commonly used in domestic laundries, said hose'turning device comprising a ball of larger diameter' than the clothes stick rotatably mounted on one end of said clothesstick. v

Other and more specific objects will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. I

In laundering hosiery and other tubular articles as the sleeves and legs of garments especially small childrens garments it' is common practice to turn the article that is being laundered so that it may be more thoroughly cleansed. These articles are often small enough so that it is very difficult to insert the hand into the same when the article or the hand, or-both, are wet thus making it very difficult to turn the article. Our invention overcomes this difficulty by providing a device that may be quickly and easily thrust into an article, as a sock or stocking without danger of damaging the article and that may be caused by a simple twisting movement of the hand to engage with the article in such a manner that when the device is withdrawn the article will be reversed or turned inside out.

In a device of this nature that is used by the ordinary housewife for domestic laundry work it is necessary that the device be comparatively simple to manipulate and free from complicated mechanism and it is very desirable that said device'be capable of being used as a clothes stick.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, adaptation and coinbination of parts as will be more clearly hereinafter described andclaimed. Infthe'drawings Figure 1 is a viewjin elevation of. a combined hose turner-f and clothes stick constructed in accordance with our invention. f p '1 Fig. 2 is a mid-sectional View on a larger scale through the hose turning device.

Figs. 3 and at are somewhat pictorial" views illustrating the operation of the device in turning hosiery. i 1 Like reference numerals, designate like parts throughout the several views. p

In the drawingsh designates a relatively long, preferably cylindrical, piece offwood thatfinay serve as ahandle for a hose turner '5, ,rotatably mounted on a screw 8 that is screwed into the end of saidhandle and ex tends axially therefrom." The knob 7 is preferably of oval shape, orjinay be sub.- stantially cylindrical exceptat the end that abuts against the end of the handle 5 where saidknob is flat as at, 9 and overhangs or projects beyond the periphery of the handle to afford an annular shoulder 10 for engagr ing an object of a sock or stocking that is to be, turned as hereinafter described. The knob 7 is boredfrom the outer end inwardly to afford a chamber 11 wherein; the head lot the screw 8 may beoperatively disposed. A compression spring 12 is provided on the screw 8 within the chamber. 11 to keep the knob 7 always tightly'press'ed against the end of handle 5 and atford suflicient .friction to prevent the knob 7 from rotating too easily'. This friction is necessary to the proper operation of the device and the spring is necessary to keepthefrictionalllO knob 7 and screw 8. The outer end of opening 11 is preferably closed by a plug 14 which may be cemented therein by waterproof cement or otherwise rigidly secured and which forms a part of the rounded end of the knob.

In use the device is thrust into a sock or stocking 15 until the knob 7 rests in the toe of such sock 0r stocking and a slight twist, usually from a quarter to a half turn is imparted to the knob 7 and toe of the sock or stocking to cause the sock or stocking to draw around the shoulders 10 of such knob as indicated at 16 in Fig. 8. The up per end of the sock or stocking is then grasped and the handle 5 drawn out of the same as shown in Fig. 4, reversing said sock or stocking with one movement. As the handle 5 is drawn out the knob will automatically release the toe of the sock or stocking without damaging the same. The knob 7 is smooth on the outside and may be readily inserted into a wet sock or stocking without difficulty and without danger of damaging the sock or stocking.

The spring 12 always serves to compensate for all wear and swelling or shrinking of the parts and holds the knob 7 frictionally so that it always offers just enough resistance to turning to stay where it is set and operate efiiciently without releasing the sock or stocking.

' This hosiery turning device being incorporated into a clothes stick which is ordinarily a part of the equipment of a household laundry is always readily accessible for use and does not even add an extra article to the usual equipment. This turning device may also be used to advantage for turning the sleeves and legs of garments that are being laundered, especially chil drens garments in which the sleeves and legs are so small as to make it difiicult to insert the hand thereinto.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings clearly disclose a pre ferred embodiment of our invention but it will be understood that this disclosure is merely illustrative and that such changes in the invention may be resorted to as are wvitl iii the scope and spirit of the follow ing claims.

e claim: I I

1. In a turning device of the class described, a handle, and a knob rotatably mounted on the end of said handle, said knob being of larger diameter than said handle and affording at its end adjacent said handle an unobstructed annular shoulder for engagement with an article to be turned.

2. In a turning device of the class described, a handle, a bearing member extending axially from the end of said handle and a knob rotatably mounted on said bearing member, the rear end of said knob being larger than the adjacent end of said handle and forming an annular shoulder for engagement with an object to be turned.

3. In a hose turning device, a handle, a knob on the end of said'handle, rotatable co-axially of said handle, said knob being larger than the adjacent end of said handle and friction means for retarding the rotation of said knob. I

4. In aturning device, a handle, an axial pivot on the end of said handle, a knob r0 tatable on said pivot, the end of said knob adjacent said handle being larger than the end of said handle and affording an annular overhanging flange behind which a tubular article may engage when said knob is inserted in said tubular article and turned and friction means retarding the turning of said knob on said handle.

5. In a device of the class described a cylindrical clothes stick and a knob pivoted on one end of said clothes stick for rotation axially relative to said clothes stick said knob having a rounded forward end and a substantially fiat rear end that rests against and projects beyond the end of said clothes stick and forms an annular shoulder for engagement with an article to be turned.

6. In a hose turning device of the class described a handle, a knob rounded on one end and flat on the other end and having an axial hole that is counterbored to a larger diameter from the rounded end inwardly,

a pivot screw arranged to be inserted through said knob and screwed axially into the end of said handle, the head of said screw being operatively disposed in' said counter-bore, a compression spring on said screw for urging the flat end of said knob against the end of said handle and a closure for the outer end of said counterbore.

The foregoing specification signed at Olympia, Washington, this 2nd day of June,

1925. ELMER G. LEACH.

CLARENCE R. WVADDLE. 

